Good deeds in the Midlands

Following are fundraisers, donations and other charitable events happening in the Midlands. E-mail your information about good deeds to connect@owh.com or call 402-444-1040.

Eat up: King Kong restaurants will offer free meals Christmas Day at three metro locations to celebrate 15 years in business. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, the restaurants will give one free dinner per customer. Dinner choices are a burger, fries and a drink or a gyro, fries and a drink to dine-in customers only. The restaurants are at 44th and Dodge Streets, 13th Street and Deer Park Boulevard and 72nd and Q Streets.

Teddy bears, please:You have until Dec. 29 to participate in the eighth annual Bank of Nebraska Holiday Teddy Bear Drive. New and slightly used teddy bears plus money donations are being accepted at Bank of Nebraska, 923 Galvin Road South in Bellevue. The bears will be donated to the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department, which uses them to comfort children in emergency situations throughout the year.

Drink up: Scooter's Coffeehouses will donate $2 to the Salvation Army for every pound of Giving Blend coffee sold through Thursday.

More toys, please: Toys are still needed for this week's Toyland Days at the Salvation Army's Lied Renaissance Center, 3612 Cuming St. Donations of new toys and gifts may be dropped off at any local Hy-Vee Supermarket, Omaha Fire Department station and the Salvation Army.

Keeping it local: The Millard Business Association's Project Wee Care this season reached 78 Millard-area families who were nominated for the program through the Millard Public Schools and association members. The families included 235 children and 114 parents and older siblings. The business association worked within its membership, the schools, churches and residents to find sponsors for help in providing clothing the children needed. Food and other drives through the schools and local businesses, plus cash donations, filled the needs of the families.

Calling home? U.S. Cellular provided free phone calls Wednesday to Siena-Francis House residents. U.S. Cellular associates brought in wireless phones and assisted residents with placing free local and long-distance phone calls in the United States. This was the seventh consecutive holiday season the company has provided the free calls.

Tree disposal: Need help with hauling away the Christmas tree? Boy Scout Troop 282 is offering its services in its 12th annual Christmas tree pickup drive. The troop will haul away trees and take them to eco-friendly disposal sites. There is no charge for the Scouts to pick up the trees and drop them off, but small donations will be accepted. A self-addressed envelope for a donation will be left in the mailbox. Troop 282 will pick up trees Dec. 27 and 31, and Jan. 2, 3, 9, 10 and 16. The service is available for residents living in the area between Pacific Street and Capehart Road, from 96th Street to 214th Street. Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance by calling 861-1234 or going to www.troop282bsa.org.

Climbing for a cause: John MacKenzie will celebrate his 50th birthday in January, but his present to himself and others will come in February. That's when he plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. It is a fundraiser for the Court Appointed Special Advocate programs in Pottawattamie, Douglas and Sarpy Counties. MacKenzie, an Omahan who manages Islamorada Fish Co. in Council Bluffs, has a Web site, kiliismycasa.bbnow.org, to educate the public and accept donations.

Feeding the hungry: The Oriental Trading Co. and its employees donated 13,825 pounds of food to the Omaha Food Bank this month. The donation surpassed last year's gift by 20 percent.

Merry Christmas! A $250,000 gift to the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Operation Uplink “Free Call Day” program by Texas-based Sport Clips is expected to provide more than 6.5 million minutes of free calls home for soldiers during the holidays.

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